aaamusic | On 13, Sep 2011

D Generation, The Borderline

5th September 2011

Sadly, the usual moshpit photographs that accompany my live reviews are not here, as I managed to write off my camera by dropping it in the bog a few days prior to the show, but that’s rock n roll for you, eh? This is a notable shame, as D Generation, the underappreciated saviours of glam punk – and indeed punk in the US as a whole – put on with can only be described as an absolute dynamite blast of a reunion show, hitting London in a way that made me doubt that they had ever split, let alone done so for most of my own lifetime.

 

Opening act Krakatoa put on a set that, while perhaps not entirely volcanic due to overlong stage banter, was without a doubt sparking with energy. Playing a sound that in reminiscent of The Hives going London ska, their garage-punk skank numbers got the sparse yet enthusiastic crowd warmed up quickly, despite rhythmic slips in one or two tracks, an issue if you are determined to play ska, yet forgivable if you remain charismatic and enthusiastic despite playing to barely enough D Gen fans to count on your fingers plus your mates. If they sort out the limp banter and get tighter, and Krakatoa could be incendiary.

 

Speaking of incendiary, Eureka Machines could very easily have upstaged the headline act. Arriving onstage to the sounds of ‘We Will Rock You’ and sporting Freddie Mercury moustaches in honour of the legend’s 65^th birthday, they then proceeded to light up the stage with their almost impossibly energetic pop-punk, managing to be both passionate and fun yet never anything less than flawlessly tight. Single cut ‘The Beginning Of The End Of The World’ was a highlight of course, yet across the board their sound was infectiously hooky, and indeed indebted to the pop nous of Queen. Yet their sound is just as much punk and Wildhearts as anything else. Why this band have not yet had their dues as one of the best live acts in the UK I do not know. If you get the chance to see them, seize it with both hands – you will not the disappointed.

 

So one can safely say D Generation had a very high standard to meet thanks to such impressive supports, and I was wondering how the show would go, as they have been apart for so long. But thankfully my reservations that I may have had were to be assuaged. Clouting the audience with a fearsome ‘Degenerated’, the band showed the audience from the start that there was a reason they were able to exist as a glam-punk Stooges crowd when the world embraced plaid flannel and introspection back in 90s America. Howie Pyro and Michael Wildwood laid down solid punk rhythm foundations for the four-legged riff monster that Richard Bacchus and Danny Sage summon through their guitar mastery. And of course, of course, where would the band be without the jaw-dropping Jesse Malin as the frontman? Looking for all the world like only days and a haircut not years had passed since the video shoot of ‘No Way Out’, and acting much the same, he sparked an aura of manic energy that turned the set from great to unbelievable. He flew around the stage in pseudo-destructive frenzy for early tracks such as ‘Guitar Mafia’, and with later numbers like ‘She Stands There’, he sweated out pop-punk attitude that drove the audience wild. For the songs ‘Vampire Nation’ and ‘Frankie’, it had reached a sort of rock n roll astrophysics style singularity onstage, and the band for all intents and purposes seemed to totally relive the performances they gave before my brothers were even born. Mixing a darkness that possibly prevented their hitting Green Day standards of popularity with an energy and catchiness that made those who loved them wonder why this injustice took place (in all seriousness, D Gen could easily outdo Green Day on so many levels especially if put on a level playing field in live terms) they all put the hearts of their youth on their sleeves once more, with Sage and Bacchus especially having to show they had not lost their Jesse-dodging skills as their frontman seemed determined to attempt topless onstage flight and curtain destruction while howling out the fevered heat of ‘Frankie’.

The encore, of course, was constructed of deserving fan favourites ‘Waiting For The Next Big Parade’ and ‘No Way Out’, both of which hit the wild levels that they should. And above all, what illuminated the show was that despite the bile-flecked attitude of the songs, and the blood-sweat-and-thunder way in which the band played them, was that they were evidently enjoying every second with unbridled joie de vivre of simply being D Generation once more, and this is what made the show so great: this was a reunion that was done from heart and soul, not from monetary or popularity concerns. Massive grins broke through the searing intensity, and spread through the audience as they sang along to the rapidfire lyrics.

All I can say is that I hope that this was not simply a fluke short term reunion: D Generation’s chemistry as a band is still in full force, their audience love them as if they had never been away, and they have proven that they still have the clout that made them such an important cult band and may yet provide their wider success.

Author: Katie H-Halinski